Recap: 50 Years of Hip Hop Celebration at Troy Music Hall

Friday October 27th  at The Troy Savings Bank Music Hall we celebrated 50 years of Hip Hop Music.

As the program that everyone received at the theater entrance stated “In the Summer of 1973, approximately 130 miles south of Troy Savings Bank Music Hall, Clive Campbell (who would later be known as DJ Kool Herc) was asked to play music at his sister’s house party. What happened that night at 1520 Sedgwick Avenue in the Bronx was the birth of a genre and movement that would continually change the pop culture landscape for the next 50 years.”

Well, I (Rob Smittix) couldn’t agree more that Hip Hop has changed not only the soundtrack to the world but the movement itself. However, if we do the math we have to account for the first year to actually transpire, so… Hip Hop fans all over the globe are in-fact celebrating the 49th year of Hip Hop music. Semantics. That’s okay I’d be happy to celebrate Hip Hop next year with the same enthusiasm we all had in 2023.

The Troy Savings Bank Music Hall has just opened the door to Hip Hop music on a whole new level and I foresee a future where Hip Hop is once again widely-accepted in venues of this magnitude. JB!! Aka Dirty Moses is helping pave the way. JB has the vision and he has put together an amazing group of performers. Among the performing MC’s were Ohzhe, KATANI, Shiloh the Messenger and Mundy! The beats and instrumentals were provided by none other than Victory Soul Orchestra and DJ Nate da Great.

I believe that concert events like this will remind the public that Hip Hop music in it’s purest form is positive and danceable, despite what the big record labels are pushing i.e. sexualization of women, drugs and gang violence. We need to go out and support our real MC’s because if we continue to do so, we are making a statement to “the industry” that we’ve had enough of the rubbish! We’d like to get back to the thought provoking lyrics and danceable beats that put Hip Hop on the map in the first place.

Thank you so much to JB and all of the performers for this incredible evening of music with a message. Thank you to the Troy Music Hall for understanding that the Hip Hop well may have been poisoned but we in the scene are slowly but surely dredging all of the pollutants out. Much respect! One Love!